Rookie San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner has the makings of an NFL star. He led the defense with five combined tackles against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, which follow another five-tackle performance a week earlier against the Houston Texans.
Warner's impressive preseason has been no surprise to those who saw him during the offseason. The 49ers may have gotten a starter out of the third-round draft pick who some initially assumed was merely a depth selection and insurance policy for Reuben Foster.
Warner could see a good deal of action while Foster serves his two-game suspension to kick off the regular season. 49ers analyst Tim Ryan, who along with play-by-play announcer Ted Robinson, called Saturday's game for KPIX 5, has been impressed with the rookie linebacker.
"Fred's going to be a great player," Ryan said on Monday morning during a KNBR interview. "There was some mistakes, but what you could see was what he is. I think a lot of people, when he was coming out of BYU, thought, 'Wow, he's a great cover guy, he's super athletic. Can he take on a 300-pound guard right down the V of his neck and get off of it?' He's a lot more heavy-handed than I think those prognosticators gave him credit for.
"I said it a couple of weeks ago. (In) three years, that guy's probably going to be the captain of the defense. He'll be a starter this year."
Ryan can envision Warner starting in place of Foster during Week 1 against Minnesota with Malcolm Smith on the weak side and Mark Nzeocha on the strong side.
Another person who is impressed with Warner is The Draft Network senior draft analyst Jon Ledyard, who wrote a feature on Monday which examined the rookie's play against the Colts.
"Already slated to start at MIKE linebacker and call the defense while Reuben Foster serves his suspension to start the season, Warner was outstanding against Indianapolis in the dress rehearsal preseason game," wrote Ledyard. "From instincts to mental processing to range, Warner is already further along than most rookie linebackers I've ever scouted, which is especially impressive when you remember he's essentially learning a new position."
Ledyard breaks down four plays from Saturday which featured Warner — three good and one showing that the rookie is ... well ... a rookie. Still, Ledyard has confidence that Warner will be able to hold his own in the first two games of the season and beyond.
"He'll do just fine as the MIKE while Foster serves his suspension, beginning the process of building his resume into a top 20 linebacker across the league," wrote Ledyard.
Click here to read the entire feature by Ledyard.
H/t to Patrick Tulini for the find.